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Tiana Epps-Johnson: What's needed to bring the US voting system into the 21st century
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The American election system is complicated, to say the least -- but voting is one of the most tangible ways that each of us can shape our communities. How can we make the system more modern, inclusive and secure? Civic engagement champion Tiana Epps-Johnson shares what's needed to bring voting in the US into the 21st century -- and to get every person to the polls.
Tiana Epps-Johnson - Civic engagement champion
Tiana Epps-Johnson works to make the US election system more modern, inclusive and secure. Full bio
Tiana Epps-Johnson works to make the US election system more modern, inclusive and secure. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
OK, I want to take a moment
to let each of you think to yourselves
to let each of you think to yourselves
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about the last time
you sent or received a fax.
you sent or received a fax.
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(Laughter)
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Well, for me, it was this morning,
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because one piece of my work
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is making sure that everyone in the US
has the information that they need
has the information that they need
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to make decisions
about the candidates on their ballot.
about the candidates on their ballot.
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And collecting that information
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from the local government offices
responsible for maintaining it
responsible for maintaining it
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means sending and receiving
a lot of faxes.
a lot of faxes.
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Voting is one of our most
fundamental rights.
fundamental rights.
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It's one of the most tangible ways
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that each and every one of us
can shape our communities.
can shape our communities.
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And as we enter this fourth
industrial revolution,
industrial revolution,
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where technology is changing
everything around us,
everything around us,
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you would think, with something
as important as the right to vote,
as important as the right to vote,
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that we would have
the most modern, secure,
the most modern, secure,
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inclusive system that could exist ...
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But we don't.
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When we look at comparable democracies,
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the US has one of the lowest
voter turnout rates in the world.
voter turnout rates in the world.
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We have a system where even
the most persistent voters
the most persistent voters
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come up against exhausting barriers.
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A system where 20th-century technology --
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like fax machines --
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and outdated practices stand in the way
of full, vibrant participation.
of full, vibrant participation.
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In US presidential elections,
turnout hovers around 60 percent.
turnout hovers around 60 percent.
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The numbers are even lower
for local elections.
for local elections.
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That means that nearly 40 percent
of Americans aren't voters.
of Americans aren't voters.
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That's nearly 100 million people.
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I believe in something
very straightforward:
very straightforward:
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that everyone should have the information
that they need to become a voter,
that they need to become a voter,
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that the voting process
should be seamless and secure
should be seamless and secure
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and that every voter
should have information they trust
should have information they trust
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to make decisions
about the candidates on their ballot.
about the candidates on their ballot.
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Because when more people vote,
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together, we make better decisions
for our communities.
for our communities.
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So I've spent the last
eight years on a mission
eight years on a mission
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to push our democracy
into the 21st century.
into the 21st century.
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Now, one of the most common approaches
to election modernization
to election modernization
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is advocating for policy change,
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and that's an incredibly important
piece of the strategy
piece of the strategy
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for building a system where millions
of more people become voters.
of more people become voters.
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But I've taken a different approach.
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I focused on a critical
yet largely untapped resource
yet largely untapped resource
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for election modernization:
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local election officials.
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I work with thousands of local
election officials across the country
election officials across the country
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to build tools and skills
that they can use immediately
that they can use immediately
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to transform the way
that they're engaging today's voters.
that they're engaging today's voters.
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Folks like Kat and Marie.
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Kat and Marie have worked together
for years in a windowless office
for years in a windowless office
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in the basement of the Mercer County
Courthouse in West Virginia.
Courthouse in West Virginia.
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Together, they have
a tremendous responsibility.
a tremendous responsibility.
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They're local election officials serving
Mercer County's 40,000 registered voters.
Mercer County's 40,000 registered voters.
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Local election officials
are the public servants
are the public servants
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that do the day-to-day work
that makes our election system function.
that makes our election system function.
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When you fill out
a voter-registration form,
a voter-registration form,
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they're the folks that process them
and add you to the rolls.
and add you to the rolls.
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They're the folks who buy the technology
that we use to cast and count ballots.
that we use to cast and count ballots.
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They recruit and train the volunteers
at your local polling place.
at your local polling place.
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And they're the official
nonpartisan source
nonpartisan source
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for informing people
in their communities about how to vote.
in their communities about how to vote.
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And unlike other countries
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where there's some form
of centralized election authority,
of centralized election authority,
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in the US,
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there are 7,897 different county
and municipal offices,
and municipal offices,
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like Kat and Marie's,
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that each have an independent role
in administering elections.
in administering elections.
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Yes, that's nearly 8,000
slightly different ways
slightly different ways
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that you might experience voting
based on where you happen to live.
based on where you happen to live.
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When I was talking with Kat and Marie,
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like so many election officials
that I talk with in rural towns
that I talk with in rural towns
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and in major cities alike,
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they were deeply proud of getting
to help people in their communities,
to help people in their communities,
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but they were also worried.
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All of the new tools that people
were using to get information --
were using to get information --
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the internet, social media --
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they were difficult to figure out
how to use effectively.
how to use effectively.
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And they felt like they weren't fully
meeting the needs of Mercer County voters.
meeting the needs of Mercer County voters.
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One thing that they really wished
that they had was a website
that they had was a website
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so they could create a hub
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with information about
how to register in upcoming elections,
how to register in upcoming elections,
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and a place to put election results.
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See, at the time,
when voters had questions,
when voters had questions,
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they had to either call
or visit their office,
or visit their office,
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which meant that Kat and Marie
were inevitably answering
were inevitably answering
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the same questions over and over again,
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which is both a superinefficient
use of their time,
use of their time,
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but also created totally unnecessary
barriers for voters
barriers for voters
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when that information
could just live online.
could just live online.
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And Mercer County wasn't alone.
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At the time, they were one
of 966 counties in the US
of 966 counties in the US
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that had no voting information online.
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I'll let that sink in.
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They were one of the nearly one-third
of counties in the US
of counties in the US
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that had no place online
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to find official information
about how to vote.
about how to vote.
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To Kat and Marie, not having
and election website was unacceptable,
and election website was unacceptable,
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but they didn't have very many options.
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They didn't have the budget
to hire a web developer,
to hire a web developer,
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they didn't have the expertise
to build a site themselves,
to build a site themselves,
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so they went without.
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And 40,000 voters
in Mercer County went without.
in Mercer County went without.
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We're in a moment where we have
an unprecedented opportunity
an unprecedented opportunity
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to transform civic engagement.
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Technology is revolutionizing
science and industry.
science and industry.
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It's already transformed
how we connect with one another
how we connect with one another
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and understand the world around us,
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but our democratic institutions --
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they're being left behind.
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The US is one of the few
major democracies in the world
major democracies in the world
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that puts the onus of voter registration
on the individual voter,
on the individual voter,
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rather than the government.
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The rules that govern how to vote
vary from state to state,
vary from state to state,
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and sometimes even county to county.
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And we have ballots
that are pages and pages long.
that are pages and pages long.
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This November, on my ballot,
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there are literally over
100 different people and referenda
100 different people and referenda
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for me to make decisions about.
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We have to be using
the best tools we can bring to bear
the best tools we can bring to bear
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to help voters navigate this complexity,
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and right now, we're not.
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One of the most common narratives
I hear in my work
I hear in my work
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is that people aren't civically engaged
because they're apathetic --
because they're apathetic --
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because they don't care.
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But as my brilliant friends
at the Center for Civic Design say,
at the Center for Civic Design say,
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if there is apathy,
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it comes from the system,
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not the voter.
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We can change the system right now
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by connecting local election officials
like Kat and Marie
like Kat and Marie
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with 21st-century tools
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and the training that they need
to use them to better serve voters.
to use them to better serve voters.
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Tools and training to do things like
use social media for voter engagement,
use social media for voter engagement,
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or use data to staff
and equip polling places
and equip polling places
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so that we don't see
hours-long lines at the polls,
hours-long lines at the polls,
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or training on cybersecurity
best practices
best practices
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so that we can ensure
that our voting systems are secure.
that our voting systems are secure.
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When we invest in this approach,
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we see meaningful, lasting results.
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Kat and Marie are online now.
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Inspired by their experience,
we built a website template
we built a website template
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using research-based
best practices in civic design,
best practices in civic design,
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and developed the training
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so that Kat and Marie are able
to maintain their site themselves.
to maintain their site themselves.
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In less than a week,
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they went from having never seen
the back end of a website
the back end of a website
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to building a resource
for Mercer County voters
for Mercer County voters
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that they have been independently
keeping up to date since 2014.
keeping up to date since 2014.
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Today, the 40,000 voters in Mercer County
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and over 100,000 voters
in counties across the country
in counties across the country
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have everything that they need
to become a voter
to become a voter
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directly from their local
election official,
election official,
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on a mobile-friendly,
easy-to-use, accessible website.
easy-to-use, accessible website.
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And we can even further scale the impact
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when local election officials
are not only reaching out
are not only reaching out
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through their own channels,
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but they're extending their reach
by working in partnership with others.
by working in partnership with others.
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Efforts like the Ballot
Information Project
Information Project
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and the Voting Information Project
work with election officials nationwide
work with election officials nationwide
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to create a centralized, standard database
of key voting information,
of key voting information,
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like what's on your ballot
and where to vote.
and where to vote.
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That information powers tools built
by companies like Google and Facebook
by companies like Google and Facebook
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to get information in the places
where people already are,
where people already are,
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like their newsfeed and search.
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In 2016, the Ballot Information Project
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connected the public with information
about candidates and referenda
about candidates and referenda
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over 200 millions times,
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helping between a third and a half
of every single person who cast a ballot.
of every single person who cast a ballot.
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And that model has been replicated
for elections around the world.
for elections around the world.
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When we look at efforts
in other areas of government,
in other areas of government,
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we can see the opportunity
when we listen to the public's needs
when we listen to the public's needs
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and we meet them with modern tools.
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I think about my friends at mRelief,
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who have helped 260,000 families
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unlock 42 million dollars in food benefits
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by helping government agencies
transition away
transition away
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from a 20-page, paper-based
application for food stamps
application for food stamps
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to a process that can happen
in 10 questions over text message
in 10 questions over text message
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in fewer than three minutes.
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That kind of transformation
is possible in voting.
is possible in voting.
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It's happening right now,
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but there's still so much work to do.
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Now, if you have any technical
bone in your body,
bone in your body,
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I know what you're thinking.
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This is all solvable.
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The technology that we need exists.
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We collectively have the expertise.
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You might even be thinking
about volunteering
about volunteering
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at your local election office.
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I love how solutions-oriented you are,
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but to be clear,
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the work that is needed
to modernize our election system
to modernize our election system
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isn't something that's going to happen
using 20 percent time,
using 20 percent time,
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or through a hackathon,
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or by doing a one-off technology project.
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What we need is significant,
sustained, long-term investment.
sustained, long-term investment.
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Investment in technology
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and investment in the skills
of local election officials
of local election officials
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to run 21st-century elections,
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because if we don't
invest in the long game,
invest in the long game,
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we risk finding ourselves
perpetually behind.
perpetually behind.
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So if you're ready to help millions,
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if you're ready to close the gap
between the system that we have
between the system that we have
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and the system that we deserve,
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we need you.
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Organizations that are doing
this work year-round need you.
this work year-round need you.
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Local election offices need you.
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Come join us.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tiana Epps-Johnson - Civic engagement championTiana Epps-Johnson works to make the US election system more modern, inclusive and secure.
Why you should listen
As the founder and executive director at the Center for Technology and Civic Life, Tiana Epps-Johnson leads a team that provides resources and training to support local election officials in modernizing the ways they communicate with voters and administer elections. Her team also publishes free, open-source civic datasets that have been accessed over 200 million times through some of the most powerful tools that drive civic participation.
Tiana Epps-Johnson | Speaker | TED.com